Shoppers, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount.

Seriously. It never hurts to ask, and most people simply can’t be bothered — or are too embarrassed — to haggle. Most major retailers have a price-match policy if you can find a better deal on the same item at a competing store.

Simply do a Google search of the item and model number on your phone, and if you can find a better price, let them know. It takes 30 seconds, and you could find yourself walking away with an item for much less than you expected.

Most retailers have strict conditions, however. The item must be identical, it must not be from an online-only store, the competitor must have the item in stock, and, generally, price matching does not extend to liquidations or fire sales.

Some often give themselves tricky caveats and escape clauses, such as liquor store Dan Murphy’s, which restricts the policy to competing stores within 10km.

Tom Godfrey, spokesman with consumer group Choice, said it was important to always read the terms and conditions carefully.

“The issue with price matching is that while the promotions sound great, you often find there are some tricky terms and conditions, so that when you go to redeem the offer you end up paying more than you expected,” he said.

“It’s worth getting onto these retailers’ websites before you go driving around. When you dig into the T&Cs, often what sounds like a great offer actually ends up being just a very complicated and convoluted exercise in reading some very fine print.”

Masters will beat competitors’ prices by 10 per cent, even up to 30 days after purchase, excluding non-Australian-based competitors and their websites.Source:News Corp Australia

Price-matching is available in-store only at Toys ‘R’ Us, and not available on category or storewide discounts, conditional sales, package deals, trade-ins, damaged stock or discontinued lines.Source:News Limited

As Stephanie Yip from comparison website Finder.com.au points out, a lot of retailers offer price matching but don’t advertise it widely. “You might find it on their homepage, or you may have to dig,” she said.

Some stores such as JB Hi-Fi and Target have no official price match policy, although staff at JB Hi-Fi are often willing to negotiate a price match if you ask politely.

Here are the price-matching policies from Australia’s major retailers, and the fine print:

DAVID JONES

• Does not extend to stand-alone online retailers, auctions, fire or liquidation sales, rack, clearance and warehouse outlets

MYER

• Will not match the competitor’s price if it is below Myer’s cost price, or if the competitor’s product is from an “unauthorised reseller”

BING LEE

• Competitor’s product must be sold individually and not part of a bundled sale, and the price must include any delivery and handling charge

THE GOOD GUYS

• Will beat verified competitors price by 20 per cent, but competitors must be nominated Australian-based businesses and exclude eBay

KMART

• Will not match online, clearance or warehouse outlets, product must be identical, and product must be in stock in an outlet located in Australia

BIG W

• Only applies to in-store prices, does not apply to clearance lines, factory or outlet sales, promotional sales prices or online-only

DICK SMITH

• Dick Smith will not sell below cost price, and the competitor must be in the same metro or town area as the requested price match

HARVEY NORMAN

• Excludes competitors that “do not operate multi-store omnichannel retail operations”, and will not honour “advertising errors”

OFFICEWORKS

• Will beat prices by 5 per cent, but “reserves the right to limit the quantity of products available for price-matching at its discretion”

RETRAVISION

• Only price matches through Retravision Online, and only matches on advertised goods, not specific quotations from competitors

DAN MURPHY’S

• Competitors’ premises must be within 10km of the store, and Dan Murphy’s “[reserves] the right to limit sales to retail quantities”

1ST CHOICE LIQUOR

• Competitors’ premises must be within 10km of the store, and 1st Choice “[reserves] the right to limit sales to reasonable retail quantities”

CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

• Chemist Warehouse says it will match competitors’ prices and give you 10 per cent off the difference, but excludes online-only offers

BUNNINGS

• Will beat competitors’ prices in online or physical stores by 10 per cent, excluding trade quotes, stock liquidations and commercial quantities

MASTERS

• Will beat competitors’ prices by 10 per cent, even up to 30 days after purchase, excluding non-Australian-based competitors and their websites

TOYS ‘R’ US

• Available in-store only, and not available on category or storewide discounts, conditional sales, package deals, trade-ins, damaged stock or discontinued lines